Zika Virus - Dominican Republic 8 weeks Pregnant!!!

[Jnic11]

I'm looking for some advice, I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant, and I'm due to travel to Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) in 2 weeks tine.

I'm really confused what I should do, as I've heard about Zika Virus, but can't really find any up to date information from the last year or so..

I plan to be staying in the resort the entire time. not venturing out anywhere..

Should I cancel my trip?
My midwife hasn't really given me any information apart from "it's my choice, and if I go to wear mosquito repellent"... She didn't go through what the current risks are.

I'm just looking for opinions...

Please help!

Hello!

I found out I was 7 weeks pregnant when travelling across Thailand and was there for another 2 weeks. When I returned, I had to visit a tropical disease unit for rabies jabs (I was scratched by a monkey) and they mentioned Zika virus to me there. They said there had been about 30 cases in the UK from Thailand that month. It was a very low risk but I had two tests which tested for an active infection and then one 4 weeks after my last known exposure for antibodies.

They only test if you’ve had symptoms of Zika virus - which I did but now I think they must have been general pregnancy symptoms which I didn’t know about at the time.

Find out if there are any active Zika outbreaks there at the moment but remember thousands of healthy babies are born in the Dominican Republic every single day. Take lots of precautions and cover up. Wear strong deet.

Is your partner going with you? If they are and get bitten, you will be advised not to have unprotected sex with them as it can live in semen/fluids for longer. Both of you can take antibody tests though! Feel free to message me with any questions.

@Jnic11 have you downloaded the bahia principe app yet? you can request room locations and make your dinner reservations.

I got pregnant while I was in Costa Rica 3yrs ago. The NHS were absolutely useless and said that when a disease isn't 'popular' anymore they ditch the guidance on it. They couldn't find anything to read up on and despite there being online NHS guidance about what they should do, they refused to follow it.

I had all the symptoms of Zika and had been eaten alive by mozzies yet they refused to do the test (it has to be done within a certain number of weeks). My GP refused to send a blood test off as 'Zika wasn't on the tick list'.

My midwife happened to have had a woman with a potential case the year before and so referred me to a consultant which was rejected. She made a complaint about inconsistency of care and then they agreed for me to have it added to my reasons for a consultant. Because they didn't have a clue what to do and weren't willing to find out, all that happened was when they did the 20wk scan they had a more in depth look at the head.

I live in a relatively poor area with a small hospital which doesn't really have a mix of cultures etc so this could be why the NHS experience of Zika related treatment was shite. I just thought you should be aware, OP that there's a chance you may get no follow up if you have symptoms on your return.

OP, if there's been no cases from that area since 2017 I wouldn't even worry about it. I think the chances of you being affected are so small it's very very unlikely you'll be impacted. So many babies will have been born since then and none have been born with Zika so your risk is basically zero.

My DD was born healthy with no sign of any Zika related issues.

@Jnic11 Have you decided yet? We arrived with our dogs on Sunday night. We are off resort so not much in the way of fogging for mozzies. I have no bites even though our patio doors have been open all day mon and tues and now today for the dogs to wander in and out of our patio. My husband has one bite on his ankle. This is an amazing country and I am proud to now call it my home !!!! If you come and have any questions feel free to PM me at any time.
Lynn